Graduate student Alysha Baratta awarded prestigious university-wide social justice award for her work on the Refugee Garden on the University of South Carolina campus.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Social Justice Awards are awarded annually to members of the University of South Carolina community who exemplify the philosophies of the late civil rights leader through acts of community service, social justice, or racial recognition. Geography graduate student Alysha Baratta has been selected as the 2016 winner in the student category for her work on the Refugee Garden on the USC campus. The campus garden is intended to give refugees resettled in Columbia an opportunity to grow fruits and vegetables that are not available in local supermarkets. The broader purpose, however, is to welcome refugees to the community and to give them a place to interact with each other and with the university community. More information on the MLK Social Justice Awards can be found here.